CN112347812A

CN112347812A - Method for detecting fingerprint through electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN112347812A
Application number: CN201910726834.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蔡秉勋; 廖士福; 姚怡安; 张贵盛; 巫国荣; 陈柏仰
Original assignee: Innolux Display Corp
Current assignee: Innolux Corp
Priority date: 2019-08-07
Filing date: 2019-08-07
Publication date: 2021-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2039-08-07
Also published as: CN112347812B

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for detecting a fingerprint through a liquid crystal display panel with a plurality of light providing pixels and a method for detecting a fingerprint through an electronic device with a fingerprint sensing unit. The method for detecting a fingerprint by an electronic device with a fingerprint sensing unit comprises the following steps: providing a detection area, wherein the detection area comprises a fingerprint sensing unit which is arranged in the liquid crystal display panel; generating scanning light by sequentially turning on a first group of a plurality of light providing pixels and a second group of a plurality of light providing pixels located in the detection region; sensing, by a fingerprint sensing unit, scanning light; and identifying the fingerprint.

Description

Method for detecting fingerprint through electronic device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for detecting a biometric feature (e.g. fingerprint, palm print) by an electronic device, and more particularly, to a method for detecting a biometric feature by a liquid crystal display panel having light providing pixels, by an electronic device having sensing units, or by an electronic device having composite pixels.

Background

With the development of electronic devices, the functions of biometric identification (e.g. fingerprint) have been widely integrated into electronic devices. Therefore, how to improve the accuracy of biometric identification in biometric identification is one of the important items to be improved in the industry.

Disclosure of Invention

In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for detecting a fingerprint through a liquid crystal display panel having a plurality of light providing pixels. The method comprises the following steps: providing a detection area, wherein the detection area comprises a fingerprint sensing unit which is arranged in the liquid crystal display panel; generating scanning light by sequentially turning on a first group of a plurality of light providing pixels and a second group of a plurality of light providing pixels located in the detection region; sensing, by a fingerprint sensing unit, scanning light; and identifying the fingerprint.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for detecting a fingerprint by an electronic device having a fingerprint sensing unit. The method comprises the following steps: providing a detection area of the electronic device; generating scanning light by sequentially turning on a first group and a second group of a plurality of light providing pixels located in the detection area; sensing a portion of the scanning light emitted by the first group by a first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit; and sensing another portion of the scanning light emitted by the second group by a second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit; wherein a first distance between the first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit and the first group of the plurality of light providing pixels is less than 600 microns in a top down direction of the electronic device.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for detecting a fingerprint by an electronic device having a plurality of composite pixels, wherein the plurality of composite pixels respectively include at least one light providing pixel and at least one fingerprint sensor. The method comprises the following steps: providing a detection area of the electronic device; generating scanning light by sequentially turning on a first composite pixel of the plurality of composite pixels and a second composite pixel of the plurality of composite pixels in the detection area; collecting a first datum from at least a portion of the first composite pixel; collecting a second data from at least a portion of the second composite pixel; and identifying the fingerprint.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a component configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the light providing pixel and the fingerprint sensor of the electronic device of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along the sectional line a-a' of fig. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a top view of a detection circuit of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a timing diagram corresponding to the detection circuit of fig. 6.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting a biometric determination by an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting a biometric characteristic by an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic top view illustrating an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting a biometric determination by an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Description of reference numerals: 100-an electronic device; 110-a first substrate structure; 112-a first substrate; 114-a circuit element layer; 120-a second substrate structure; 122-a second substrate; 124-a protective layer; 130-a dielectric layer; 140-a backlight layer; 150-a cover plate; 150 a-an outer surface; 160-an adhesive layer; 1102 to 1106, 1202 to 1206, 1302 to 1306-steps; AA-active region; an AC-calculus circuit; ARS-array elements; B1-B5-; CPX, CPX 1-CPX 16-composite pixels; d1-first direction; d2-second direction; d3-looking down the direction of the electronic device; DA-detection area; DG 1-DG 5-detection groups; DP-multitask message-releaser; DT 1-first distance; DT 2-second distance; DTX-distance; a DU-unit detection block; EA-light emitting area; eb. Es-light; R1-R5-reflected light; FC-detection circuit; FG-finger; FPS-fingerprint sensor; h-sensing distance; l-length; an LS-light blocking layer; LT-light color conversion layer; LT 1-first color part; LT 2-second color part; LT 3-third color section; LX-light providing pixels; NA-peripheral zone; OP1 — first opening; OP2 — second opening; POL1, POL 2-polarizer; ROL-read line; S1-S5-switching elements; SPX-subpixels; SPX 1-green subpixel; SPX 2-red subpixel; SPX 3-blue subpixel; STP 3-third subinterval; TL-transmission lines; w-width.

Detailed Description

The present invention may be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which it is noted that, for the sake of clarity, the various drawings depict only some embodiments of the invention and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In addition, the number and size of the elements in the drawings are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular elements. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that electronic device manufacturers may refer to the same components by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in function but not name. In the following description and claims, the terms "including", "comprising", "having", "with", and the like are open-ended terms, and thus should be construed to mean "including, but not limited to …". Thus, when the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes" and/or "including" are used in the description of the invention, they specify the presence of stated features, regions, steps, operations, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, steps, operations, and/or components.

When a corresponding element, such as a film or region, is referred to as being "on" another element (or variations thereof), it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another element (or variations thereof), there are no elements present therebetween.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "connected to" another element or layer, it can be directly connected to the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. When an element is referred to as being "directly connected to" another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. In addition, when a component is referred to as being "coupled" to another component (or a variation thereof), it may be directly connected to the other component or indirectly connected (e.g., electrically connected) to the other component through one or more members.

The terms "about," "substantially," or "substantially" are generally to be construed as being within 20% of a given value or range, or as being within 10%, 5%, 3%, 2%, 1%, or 0.5% of the given value or range.

The use of ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," etc., in the specification and claims to modify an element is not intended to imply any previous order to the element(s), nor an order of one element to another element, or an order of manufacture, but are merely used to clearly distinguish one element having a given name from another element having a same name. The claims may not use the same words in the specification, and accordingly, a first element in a specification may be a second element in a claim.

It is to be understood that the following illustrative embodiments may be implemented by replacing, recombining, and mixing features of several different embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Features of the various embodiments may be combined and matched as desired, without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

In the present invention, the electronic device 100 may include a display apparatus, a touch (display) device, an antenna device, a light emitting device, a sensing device, a tile device, or any suitable type of electronic device. The electronic device 100 of the present invention is a display device having a biometric feature (e.g. fingerprint, palm print or other suitable biometric features) recognition function, but is not limited thereto. The electronic device 100 may include a display panel, which may include a Liquid Crystal (LC), a light-emitting diode (LED), a micro-LED and/or a mini-LED, an organic light-emitting diode (organic LED), a quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED, QDLED), a fluorescent light (fluorescent), a phosphorescent light (phosphor), other suitable materials, or a combination thereof, but is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, the electronic device 100 is described by taking a liquid crystal display panel as an example, but is not limited thereto. The electronic device 100 may be a color display panel or a monochrome display panel. The shape of the electronic device 100 may be rectangular, circular, polygonal, a shape with curved edges, or other suitable shape.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of components of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a light providing pixel and a fingerprint sensor of the electronic device of fig. 1, and fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section along a sectional line a-a' of fig. 2. As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the electronic device 100 includes a first substrate structure 110 and a cover plate 150. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 1), the electronic device 100 may further include a second substrate structure 120, a dielectric layer 130, and a backlight module 140, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 1 to 3), the first substrate structure 110 is disposed opposite to the second substrate structure 120, and the dielectric layer 130 is disposed between the first substrate structure 110 and the second substrate structure 120. In some embodiments (such as fig. 1), the backlight layer 140 is disposed adjacent to the first substrate structure 110, or the first substrate structure 110 is disposed, for example, between the second substrate structure 120 and the backlight layer 140. In some embodiments, an adhesive layer 160 may be disposed between the cover plate 150 and the second substrate structure 120 to fix the cover plate 150 and the second substrate structure 120. The adhesive layer 160 can be, for example, an Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA), but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the backlight layer 140 may include a direct-type backlight, an edge-type backlight, or other suitable backlight, and the backlight layer 140 may emit light of a suitable color, such as white light, blue light, UV light, or other suitable color light sources, as desired. The backlight module 140 may include light emitting diodes, micro light emitting diodes, organic light emitting diodes, quantum dot light emitting diodes, phosphorescent materials, fluorescent materials, other suitable light sources, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, dielectric layer 130 is any suitable liquid crystal material, for example, for modulating the light path (or polarization). In some embodiments, dielectric layer 130 is, for example, any suitable material that modulates the path of light.

In some embodiments (such as fig. 2), the electronic device 100 comprises a plurality of light providing pixels LX, which may for example comprise at least one sub-pixel SPX. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 2), the light providing pixel LX is composed of three sub-pixels SPX, such as, but not limited to, a green sub-pixel SPX1, a red sub-pixel SPX2 and a blue sub-pixel SPX 3. In some embodiments (not shown), the light providing pixel LX is composed of at least one pixel (pixel), but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments (as in fig. 2), the light providing pixel LX is, for example, one pixel, which is, for example, composed of three sub-pixels SPX. In some embodiments, the number of pixels, the number of sub-pixels SPX, or the color of the sub-pixels SPX included in the light providing pixel LX can be modulated according to the requirement. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 2), the plurality of sub-pixels SPX are arranged in an array or stripe type (stripe type), for example, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments (not shown), the plurality of sub-pixels SPX are arranged in a Pentile pattern, for example. In some embodiments (such as fig. 2), the plurality of light providing pixels LX may be arranged, for example, along the first direction D1 and/or the second direction D2, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first direction D1 is different from the second direction D2, or the first direction D1 is substantially perpendicular to the second direction D2, and the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are both perpendicular to a direction D3 (i.e., a normal direction of the first substrate 112, and the first substrate 112 can be described with reference to fig. 3) for looking down the electronic device 100. Fig. 2 shows, for example, only two light-providing pixels LX, but is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that, when the display device is a liquid crystal display device (as shown in fig. 1 to 3), the plurality of light-providing pixels LX may be composed of, for example, but not limited to, the first substrate structure 110, the dielectric layer 130 and the second substrate structure 120. In other words, the light providing pixel LX may include, but is not limited to, a portion of the first substrate structure 110, a portion of the dielectric layer 130 and a portion of the second substrate structure 120, respectively, as will be described later. In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 has an active area AA (refer to fig. 4), which may include, for example, a display area, a light emitting area, a detection area, other suitable operation areas, or a combination thereof, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 2), the electronic device 100 may have at least one detection area DA, which may be disposed in the active area AA, for example, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the range of the detection area DA may be substantially the same as the range of the active area AA in the direction D3 of the top view of the electronic device 100, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, in the direction D3 looking down the electronic device 100, the range of the detection area DA may be smaller than the range of the active area AA, for example. In other words, the detection area DA may be at least a portion of the active area AA, for example. The detailed detection area DA is defined as follows. The electronic device 100 of the present invention is used for recognizing a fingerprint, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the electronic device 100 may be used for recognition of other biometric features.

As shown in fig. 1-3, the first substrate structure 110 may include a first substrate 112, and the second substrate structure 120 may include a second substrate 122. In some embodiments, the material of the first substrate 112, the second substrate 122, and/or the cover plate 150 may comprise glass, quartz, sapphire, a polymer, other suitable materials, or a combination thereof. Examples of the polymer include Polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the materials of the first substrate 112, the second substrate 122, and/or the cover plate 150 may be the same or different. In some embodiments, the first substrate 112, the second substrate 122 and the cover plate 150 are, for example, flexible substrates or hard substrates. In some embodiments, the first substrate 112, the second substrate 122, and/or the cover plate 150 may comprise a single layer structure or a multi-layer structure. In addition, the cover plate 150 may have an outer surface 150a, for example, the outer surface 150a is the surface of the cover plate 150 away from the first substrate structure 110. When the electronic device 100 needs to perform a biometric identification (such as, but not limited to, a fingerprint, a palm print), the biometric identification may contact the outer surface 150a of the cover plate 150, for example, and the detailed detection method will be described later. For example, when the electronic device has a fingerprint recognition function, the electronic device has an outer surface 150a for touching by a finger.

In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 1 to 3), the first substrate structure 110 further includes a circuit element layer 114 disposed on the first substrate 112, the circuit element layer 114 includes a plurality of array elements ARS, for example, including display switch elements (e.g., thin film transistors) respectively disposed in the different sub-pixels SPX to control on/off of the sub-pixels SPX in the light providing pixel LX. The circuit element layer 114 may further include, but is not limited to, capacitors, scan lines, data lines, readout lines, and/or other elements as needed. In some embodiments, at least one or all of the sub-pixels SPX in the light providing pixel LX may be turned on, for example, to cause the light providing pixel LX to provide a portion of the scanned light for biometric identification (described later). The color of the scanning light generated by the light providing pixel LX is, for example, but not limited to, white light, red light, blue light, green light, other suitable color light, or a combination thereof.

The electronic device 100 has a display panel for fingerprint recognition, for example. In some embodiments (see fig. 3), the electronic device 100 includes a plurality of fingerprint sensors FPS for fingerprint sensing. In other embodiments, other sensors may be present in the electronic device 100, the type of sensor being selected according to the biometric characterization to be recognized. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2 to 3, the electronic device includes a detection area DA, and the detection area DA includes (at least) a fingerprint sensing unit DU (refer to fig. 4 later), for example, the fingerprint sensing unit DU is disposed in a (liquid crystal) display panel. In some embodiments, the detection area DA is defined as an area covering all light providing pixels LX and/or all fingerprint sensing units DU, for example. In some embodiments, a fingerprint sensing unit DU includes at least one fingerprint sensor FPS.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, one fingerprint sensor FPS is disposed corresponding to one sub-pixel SPX in one light source providing pixel LX, for example, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments (not shown), a fingerprint sensor FPS is disposed corresponding to a light source, for example, to provide a plurality of sub-pixels SPX in the pixel LX. In some embodiments (not shown), a plurality of fingerprint sensors FPS are disposed corresponding to a plurality of sub-pixels SPX in the light source providing pixel LX, respectively. In some embodiments, the number of fingerprint sensor FPS may be the same as or different from the number of light providing pixels LX, for example. In some embodiments, the number of fingerprint sensor FPS may be, for example, smaller than the number of light providing pixels LX. In some embodiments, the number of fingerprint sensor FPS may be, for example, greater than the number of light providing pixels LX. In some embodiments, the number of fingerprint sensors FPS may be the same as or different from the number of sub-pixels SPX, for example.

In some embodiments (e.g., fig. 3), the fingerprint sensor FPS may be disposed in the circuit element layer 114, for example, but not limited to. In some embodiments (not shown), the fingerprint sensor FPS may be disposed in the second substrate structure 120, for example. In some embodiments, the fingerprint sensor FPS may include, but is not limited to, an optical sensor FPS, other suitable sensor. In some embodiments, the fingerprint sensor FPS may include a PIN diode, other suitable fingerprint sensor FPS, or a combination thereof, but is not limited to such. The fingerprint sensor FPS may include an N-type semiconductor layer, an intrinsic layer, and/or a P-type semiconductor layer. In some embodiments, the fingerprint sensor FPS may further include an upper electrode (not shown) and a lower electrode (not shown), for example, but not limited to, the upper electrode and the lower electrode are located on the upper and lower sides of the PIN diode.

In some embodiments (not shown), the circuit element layer 114 may include sensing switch elements, readout lines and/or other elements (e.g., reset elements) electrically connected to the fingerprint sensor FPS to form a sensing circuit in combination with the fingerprint sensor FPS. In some embodiments, the sensing switch element may be used to control whether to read out the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS (described later), and the readout line ROL (see fig. 6) may transmit the sensing data in the fingerprint sensor FPS to the detection circuit FC, so that the detection circuit FC (see fig. 6) may collect the sensing data in the fingerprint sensor FPS, and then may identify the fingerprint according to the sensing data.

In some embodiments, the display switching elements and the sensing switching elements may be the same type or different types of thin film transistors. In some embodiments, the display switch element and the sensing switch element are formed by the same or different processes. The film layer design of each element in the circuit element layer 114 can be adjusted according to the requirement, and is not limited to the above.

In some embodiments, the electronic device includes a frame control circuit (not shown) and a detection circuit FC, which may be, for example, a chip or other suitable circuit board, disposed in the peripheral area NA, and electrically connected to a bonding pad (not shown) of the circuit element layer 114 by bonding (bonding), but not limited thereto. In some embodiments (not shown), the peripheral region NA is, for example, adjacent to or surrounding the active region AA. In some embodiments (not shown), the frame control circuit and the detection circuit FC may be integrated in the same chip. In some embodiments (not shown), the frame control circuit may include one or more chips, and the detection circuit FC may include one or more chips.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the second substrate structure 120 may include a light blocking layer LS, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments (not shown), the first substrate structure 110 may include a light blocking layer LS. In some embodiments, the light blocking layer LS may include black ink, resin, and/or other suitable light blocking materials. The light blocking layer LS may be used to block at least a portion of the elements (e.g., the switching elements, the picture control circuit, the detection circuit AC and/or the traces) that reflect the external light, so as to improve the display quality of the electronic device 100.

In some embodiments (as in fig. 3), the light blocking layer LS may include a first opening OP1, and the first opening OP1 may define a light emitting area EA, i.e., an opening area, of the sub-pixel SPX, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the light blocking layer LS may include a second opening OP2, and the second opening OP2 overlaps at least a portion of the fingerprint sensor FPS in a direction D3 of the top view of the electronic device 100, for example, so that the scanning light provided and/or emitted by the light providing pixel LX may be reflected by a finger, and the reflected light may irradiate the fingerprint sensor FPS through the second opening OP2 to obtain sensing data, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2 to 3, the second substrate structure 120 of the electronic device 100 includes a light color conversion layer LT. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 3), in the direction D3 looking down the electronic device 100, the first opening OP1 substantially overlaps the light color conversion layer LT, for example. In some embodiments, the light color conversion layer LT may include a filter material (e.g., a color resistor), quantum dots, a fluorescent material, a phosphorescent material, or other suitable light color conversion material to convert light passing through the light color conversion layer LT into other colors. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 2), the light color conversion layer LT may include a first color segment LT1, a second color segment LT2, and/or a third color segment LT3 corresponding to the green sub-pixel SPX1, the red sub-pixel SPX2, and the blue sub-pixel SPX3, respectively, but not limited thereto. The first color part LT1 may convert a backlight (e.g., white or other colors) into green, the second color part LT2 may convert the backlight into red, and the third color part LT3 may convert the backlight into blue, but is not limited thereto, and the backlight is provided by the backlight layer 140, for example, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the light color conversion layer LT may be a film layer in the first substrate structure 110.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the fingerprint sensor FPS does not overlap with the light emitting area EA and/or the light color conversion layer LT in the direction D3 looking down the electronic device 100. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2 to 3, the area of the fingerprint sensor FPS projected onto the first substrate 112 may be, for example, less than or equal to the area of the light emitting area EA and/or the light color conversion layer LT projected onto the first substrate 112. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 2), the areas of the light emitting areas EA of the sub-pixels SPX may be the same or different in the direction D3 looking down the electronic device 100. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 2), the opening areas of the light blocking layer LS corresponding to the plurality of sub-pixels SPX may be the same or different in the direction D3 looking down the electronic device 100. In some embodiments, the shape of the light emitting area EA of the sub-pixel SPX in the direction D3 of the electronic device 100 can include a rectangle, a parallelogram, a "" shape, or any other suitable shape, and the sub-pixel SPX shown in fig. 2 is a rectangle for example.

In some embodiments (e.g., FIG. 1), the electronic device 100 may include any desired layers (e.g., optical layers), which may include polarizers (POL1 and/or POL2), for example, but are not limited thereto. In some embodiments (e.g., FIG. 1), polarizer POL1 may be disposed between backlight layer 140 and first substrate structure 110, polarizer POL2 may be disposed between cover plate 150 and second substrate structure 120, and cover plate 150 may be attached to polarizer POL2 by adhesive layer 160, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments (see fig. 3), the second substrate structure 120 may include a protection layer 124 for protecting the light color conversion layer LT and the light blocking layer LS. In some embodiments (e.g., fig. 3), the protection layer 124 may be used as a planarization layer.

In some embodiments (not shown), when the display panel includes light emitting diodes or micro light emitting diodes, the first opening OP1 overlaps at least a portion of the light emitting diodes in the direction D3 of the electronic device 100.

In the sensing process of a biometric characteristic (e.g., a fingerprint), the detection area DA may include a plurality of light-providing pixels LX, and the plurality of light-providing pixels LX may be divided into a plurality of groups (e.g., a first group and a second group, or even more), for example, and different groups (including the first group and the second group) are respectively located in different sub-areas (not shown) in the detection area DA. It should be noted that the different groups of light-providing pixels LX can be sequentially turned on at different timings, for example, to generate scanning light, which can be used as light for biometric identification, for example. In other words, the light providing pixels LX of different sub-regions (not shown) can, for example, respectively generate a portion of the scanning light, and the sum of the portions of the scanning light is the scanning light. Some of the scanning light, for example, at different timings, may be reflected to the fingerprint sensor FPS in the fingerprint sensing unit DU after illuminating the fingerprint of the finger, and generate sensing data, and the fingerprint profile is obtained by collecting the fingerprint sensor FPS in different areas at different timings (i.e., collecting the sensing data in the fingerprint sensor FPS in different areas), and the collected sensing data is processed and/or integrated by the detection circuit FC, for example, to complete the fingerprint identification, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments (not shown), the composite pixel CPX (refer to fig. 2) may include at least one light providing pixel LX and at least one fingerprint sensor FPS, respectively, and the number of the light providing pixels LX and the number of the fingerprint sensor FPS may be the same or different. In some embodiments, the number of light providing pixels LX in the composite pixel CPX (refer to fig. 2) may be, for example, equal to the number of fingerprint sensor FPS. In some embodiments (not shown), the number of light providing pixels LX in the composite pixel CPX may be, for example, greater or less than the number of fingerprint sensor FPS. In some embodiments, the range of the detection area DA is defined as an area covering all the composite pixels CPX, for example. As described above, the detection area DA is, for example, an area covering all the light providing pixels LX and all the fingerprint sensing units DU.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, fig. 4 is a top view, a cross-sectional view, and fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B' of fig. 4. In some embodiments (e.g., fig. 4 and 5), the electronic device 100 may include a plurality of composite pixels (CPX 1-CP 16), each of the composite pixels (CPX 1-CP 16) may include at least one light providing pixel LX (see light providing pixel LX in the composite pixel CPX of fig. 1-3) and at least one fingerprint sensor FPS (see fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixel CPX of fig. 3), for example, but not limited thereto, located in the first substrate structure 110. The composite pixels (e.g., CPX 1-CPX 4) in fig. 5 may include a portion of the first substrate structure 110, a portion of the dielectric layer 130, and a portion of the second substrate structure 120, respectively. It should be noted that the electronic device 100 of fig. 4 and 5 is similar to the electronic device 100 of fig. 1 to 3, but the sectional view of fig. 5 is different from that of fig. 1 or 3, and fig. 5 is mainly to clearly show the operation relationship (e.g., on or off) of the compound pixels CPX 1-CPX 4, so that some detailed structures in the compound pixels are omitted, and thus, the light providing pixels LX and/or the fingerprint sensor FPS in the plurality of compound pixels (CPX 1-CP 16) can refer to fig. 3.

In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 4 and fig. 5), the electronic device 100 may include at least one unit detection block DU (as shown in a dashed box in fig. 4), for example, located in the detection area DA. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 4 and 5), the unit detection block DU may include at least one composite pixel CPX. In some embodiments (as shown in fig. 5), the unit detection block DU has, for example, 16 complex pixels CPX 1-CPX 16, but is not limited thereto. The number of composite pixels included in the unit detection block DU can be modulated according to the requirement. Referring to fig. 4, the fingerprint sensor FPS of the 16 complex pixels CPX 1-CPX 16 of the unit detection block DU can be defined as a fingerprint sensing unit (not shown), but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments (such as fig. 4 and 5), when the unit detection block DU has 16 complex pixels CPX 1-CPX 16, the fingerprint sensing process can be divided into 16 timings, but is not limited thereto. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the electronic device can be divided into a plurality of time sequences in the process of detecting the fingerprint. For example, in the first timing sequence, the light providing pixel LX (not shown in fig. 5, and referring to the light providing pixel LX in the composite pixel CPX of fig. 1 to 3) in the composite pixel CPX1 (e.g. a dot-shaped shading composite pixel) is in an on state, the light providing pixel LX in the composite pixel CPX1 can provide a portion of the scanning light (i.e. the light Es) to the finger FG, the portion of the scanning light (the light Es) can be reflected by the finger FG to form reflected lights (R1 to R5), and the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixel CPX1 can receive or sense the reflected lights R1 to R5, for example, but not limited thereto. In addition, in the first timing, the light providing pixels LX of the composite pixels CPX2 to CPX16 are not turned on, for example, so that the light providing pixels LX of the composite pixels CPX2 to CPX16 cannot pass the light Eb.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, in the method for detecting a biometric feature (such as a fingerprint, a palm print, or a fingerprint without limitation) by the electronic device 100, for example, the sensing process can be divided into a plurality of timings, and the light providing pixels LX (refer to the light providing pixels LX in the composite pixels CPX of fig. 1 to 3) in different composite pixels CPX are respectively turned on at different timings to respectively provide different portions of the scanning light. Different portions of the scanning light are reflected to the fingerprint sensor FPS of the composite pixel CPX (refer to the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixel CPX of fig. 3) through the finger FG at different timings to obtain sensing data. In addition, the detection circuit FC (refer to fig. 6) of the electronic device 100 can collect the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS in the turned-on composite pixel CPX, which will be described in detail later. In some embodiments, in one timing (e.g., the first timing), the light providing pixels LX in one or more of the composite pixels CPX may be turned on simultaneously, for example, and the reflected light reflected by the finger may be received by the fingerprint sensor FPS in the turned on composite pixel CPX to obtain the sensing data, and the sensing data in the fingerprint sensor FPS may be collected by the detection circuit FC (see fig. 6), for example, but not limited thereto.

In an embodiment (as shown in fig. 4), the light providing pixels LX in the composite pixels (CPX 1-CPX 16) of the unit detection block DU can be sequentially turned on at different timings, but not limited thereto. For example, in a first timing sequence (as shown in fig. 4 and 5), the electronic device 100 for example turns on the light providing pixels LX (i.e., the first group of the light providing pixels LX) in the composite pixels CPX1 (the first composite pixels) of each unit detection block DU to provide a portion of the scanning light (i.e., the light Es), the fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e., the first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit) in the composite pixel CPX1 (the first composite pixel) can sense the reflected light of the portion of the scanning light (i.e., the light Es) reflected by the finger to obtain first data (sensing data), and then can transmit the first data to the detection circuit FC (see fig. 6), for example, through the readout line ROL (see fig. 6), and collect the first data through the detection circuit FC, but is not limited thereto. In addition, in the second timing, the electronic device 100, for example, turns on the light providing pixels LX (i.e., the second group of light providing pixels LX) in the composite pixels CPX2 (the second composite pixels) of each unit detection block DU to provide a portion of the scanning light (not shown), the fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e., the second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit) in the composite pixel CPX2 (the second composite pixel) may sense the reflected light of the portion of the scanning light (not shown) reflected by the finger to obtain second data (sensing data), and then may transmit the second data to the detection circuit FC (refer to fig. 6), for example, via the readout line ROL, to collect the second data via the detection circuit FC, but is not limited thereto. Similarly, other timings may be analogized, and are not described or illustrated herein.

It should be noted that, as described above, the light providing pixels LX that are turned on may be defined as a first group of the light providing pixels LX in the first timing, and the fingerprint sensor FPS that collects sensing data may be defined as a first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit in the first timing. Similarly, the light providing pixels LX that are turned on may be defined as a second group of the light providing pixels LX in the second timing, and the fingerprint sensor FPS that collects sensing data may be defined as a second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit in the second timing. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, different timings (for example, 16 timings) are not overlapped with each other, that is, different timings are not synchronized with each other, and for example, 16 timings are sequentially performed (for example, from the first timing to the sixteenth timing), but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the light providing pixels LX in the composite pixels CPX 1-CPX 16 can be turned on non-sequentially as desired, i.e., the light providing pixels LX in the composite pixels CPX 1-CPX 16 are not turned on according to the arranged order. In other embodiments, the unit detection blocks DU can be designed with more or less composite pixels as required, or the fingerprint sensing process can be designed with more or less timing as required.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned "sequentially turning on a first group of the plurality of light providing pixels LX and a second group of the plurality of light providing pixels LX in the detection area DA to generate a scanning light" may include the following possibilities. For example, when the electronic device 100 includes an inorganic light emitting diode or an organic light emitting diode panel, the scanning light may be generated by sequentially turning on the inorganic light emitting diode or the organic light emitting diode in the pixel (which may be the light providing pixel LX), for example, but not limited thereto, and the scanning light may be the light of the highest gray scale 255 generated by the pixel (which is the light providing pixel LX). In addition, the pixel that is turned off (can supply the pixel LX with light), for example, does not generate light.

Such as by providing light through a backlight layer 140 (e.g., fig. 1), such as white light or other suitable color light, and controlling whether light is transmitted to the finger through the pixel (e.g., the light providing pixel LX). As in the above embodiments, the pixel (which may be the light providing pixel LX) has, for example, a function of modulating whether or not light of the backlight layer passes through. For example (see FIG. 5), when the light-providing pixel LX of the composite pixel CPX1 is turned on, that is, the light that passes through the polarizer POL2 can be mostly transmitted to the backlight layer 140, and the light that passes through the polarizer POL2 is a part of the scanning light (i.e., the light Es, see FIG. 5). While the other light not turned on provides the composite pixel corresponding to the pixel LX, the light of the backlight layer 140 cannot pass through the polarizer POL2, for example, and the light not passing through the polarizer POL2 is the light Eb as shown in fig. 5. It should be noted that, since a part of the scanning light (i.e., the light Es) is partially transmitted and scattered when being irradiated to the finger FG, the light of the part of the scanning light (i.e., the light Es) is not completely received or sensed by the fingerprint sensor FPS.

In addition, each time sequence can be divided into a plurality of sub-periods, and each time sequence of the embodiment can be divided into three sub-periods, for example, and the time duration of different sub-periods can be the same or different, but not limited thereto. The first timing sequence is taken as an example, and the first timing sequence may include a first sub-period, a second sub-period and a third sub-period. In detail, in the first sub-period, the electronic device 100 may turn on the light providing pixels LX (i.e., the first group of light providing pixels LX) in the composite pixels CPX1 (i.e., the first composite pixel) of the unit detection block DU, for example, through a screen control circuit (not shown), to provide a portion of the scanning light. In the second sub-period, a portion of the scanning light is reflected to the fingerprint sensor FPS via the finger FG, so that the fingerprint sensor FPS generates a sensing signal. In the third sub-period, the sensing signal (i.e. the first data) of the fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e. the first part of the fingerprint sensing unit) in the composite pixel CPX1 (the first composite pixel) is collected, for example, by the detection circuit FC. Similar other timings can be analogized, and are not repeated herein. In a first timing, the fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e., a first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit) in composite pixel CPX1 (a first composite pixel) senses a portion of the scanning light emitted by the light providing pixels LX (i.e., a first group of light providing pixels LX) in composite pixel CPX1 (a first composite pixel). In the second timing, the fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e., the second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit) in composite pixel CPX2 (the second composite pixel) senses a portion of the scanning light emitted by the light-providing pixels LX (i.e., the second group of light-providing pixels LX) in composite pixel CPX2 (the second composite pixel). The step of collecting the first material from the fingerprint sensor FPS of composite pixel CPX1 (the first composite pixel) as described above can be performed, for example, before or after the step of turning on light providing pixel LX of composite pixel CPX2 (the second composite pixel), and the present invention is not limited thereto, and will be described in detail later. It should be noted that the design of the sub-period number or time can be adjusted according to the requirement.

After collecting the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS, a fingerprint profile can be obtained from the sensing data. In detail, the sensing data may be combined and/or superimposed, for example, by the detection circuit FC, to obtain the fingerprint profile. In addition, the manner of combining and/or superimposing the sensed data may be any suitable manner. In some embodiments, the detection circuit FC may combine and/or add the sensing data after all the sensing data are obtained. In some embodiments, the detection circuit FC may combine and/or superimpose a portion of the sensing data (e.g. one or more pieces of sensing data) into a temporary data after obtaining the portion of the sensing data, and may combine and/or superimpose the temporary data with other sensing data in a subsequent timing sequence, but not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, in a timing, for example, a portion of the light providing pixels LX are turned on, and thus, the reflected light received or sensed by the fingerprint sensor FPS can come from, for example, the light provided by the light providing pixels LX corresponding thereto. The sensing accuracy can be improved by the design of the invention, but the invention is not limited to the method. In addition, a distance is required to be maintained between the plurality of complex pixels CPX1 that are turned on in the same timing (e.g., the first timing), so that the sensing interference between two complex pixels CPX1 is reduced, and the sensing accuracy can be improved. For example, in fig. 5, the other composite pixels (composite pixels that are not turned on at the same timing as the composite pixel CPX1) are further included between the left composite pixel CPX1 and the right composite pixel CPX1, so that the probability that a part of the scanning light provided by the light providing pixel LX of the left composite pixel CPX1 reflected by the finger (e.g., the light rays R1-R5) will strike the fingerprint sensor FPS of the composite pixel CPX1 (i.e., the composite pixel CPX1) in the adjacent unit detection block DU is reduced. Additionally, in some embodiments (such as FIG. 5), during the first timing sequence, while the fingerprint sensor FPS of composite pixel CPX2 (second composite pixel) and composite pixel CPX3 may receive (or sense) reflected light (such as light rays R2-R5), the fingerprint sensor FPS in composite pixel CPX2 (second composite pixel) and composite pixel CPX3 may not be received, for example, selectively. In addition, as shown in fig. 5, a part of the scanning light provided by the light providing pixel LX is reflected by the finger to the corresponding fingerprint sensor FPS to have a larger illuminance than the fingerprint sensor FPS in other adjacent composite pixels, so that the sensing accuracy can be improved.

In some embodiments, there is a sensing distance H between the outer surface 150a of the cover plate 150 and the fingerprint sensor FPS in a direction D3 looking down on the electronic device 100, the sensing distance H being the smallest distance between the outer surface 150a and the fingerprint sensor FPS in the direction D3 looking down on the electronic device 100. It should be noted that the sensing distance H illustrated in fig. 5 is only illustrated as the sensing distance H between the outer surface 150a of the cover plate 150 and the first substrate structure 110 in the direction D3 looking down the electronic device 100, but actually (refer to fig. 1 and 3), the sensing distance H may be different according to the layer position of the fingerprint sensor FPS on the first substrate structure 110.

It should be noted that, in the process of fingerprint sensing, if the distance H between the finger FG (see fig. 5) and the fingerprint sensor FPS is longer, the accuracy of the fingerprint sensor FPS may be reduced because a part of the scanning light emitted by the light providing pixels LX (see fig. 3) may be irradiated onto the finger FG in a more collimated manner, for example, as the distance H is larger, so that the area irradiated onto the finger FG may be larger. In some embodiments, in order to reduce the above problem caused by the longer distance H, for example, the size of the composite pixel CPX may be designed to be small, and when the size of the composite pixel CPX is designed to be small, the light emitting area EA (see fig. 3) of the light providing pixel LX may be smaller, so that the area of the finger FG through which the light emitted by the light providing pixel LX passes or projects is relatively smaller, thereby improving the accuracy of the fingerprint sensor FPS.

In some embodiments, the composite pixel CPX has a width W, for example, which is the maximum width of the composite pixel CPX in the first direction D1, and the first direction D1 is perpendicular to the direction D3 of the electronic device 100 in a top view, for example. In some embodiments, H and W may satisfy the following equation: hxw <0.3 square millimeters (mm2) to improve fingerprint sensor FPS accuracy. For example, the width W may be designed to be less than 0.333 millimeters (mm) when the sensing distance H is approximately 0.9 mm, but not limited thereto. In addition, the composite pixel CPX has, for example, a length L, which may be, for example, the maximum length in the second direction D2. The first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are, for example, perpendicular to the direction D3 of the electronic device 100 in a plan view, and the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are different (e.g., they form an angle range of about 45 to 90 degrees).

In some embodiments, the plurality of light providing pixels LX can be divided into a first group and a second group, which are respectively located in different sub-areas (not shown) of the detection area DA. For example (as in fig. 4), the first group for example comprises one light providing pixel LX in the upper left corner of the unit detection block(s) DU (e.g. corresponding to a light providing pixel in the composite pixel CPX1), the second group for example comprises a light providing pixel LX in the unit detection block(s) DU adjacent to the first group as described above (e.g. corresponding to a light providing pixel in the composite pixel CPX 2), and so on, but not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the number of the first group (e.g., the light providing pixels LX in the composite pixel CPX1) is, for example, the same as the number of the second group (e.g., the light providing pixels LX in the composite pixel CPX 2), that is, the number of the light providing pixels LX turned on in the first timing is, for example, the same as the number of the light providing pixels LX turned on in the second timing, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, a plurality of unit detection blocks DU may be sensed simultaneously, for example, and such unit detection blocks DU sequentially turn on light providing pixels LX of different groups (e.g., a first group, a second group, etc., and so on) in a plurality of timings to sense fingerprints of corresponding areas, for example. In some embodiments, the plurality of unit detection blocks DU of the electronic device 100 can be divided into a plurality of detection sets, and the sensing data in the unit detection blocks DU of the plurality of detection sets can be sequentially transferred to the detection circuit FC during the transfer of the sensing data. The following describes an embodiment of dividing the unit detection blocks DU into a plurality of detection groups.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, fig. 6 is a top view of an electronic device including a detection circuit according to an embodiment of the invention, and fig. 7 is a timing diagram corresponding to the detection circuit of fig. 6, where fig. 7 illustrates a period when the detection circuit FC receives (reads or collects) sensing data (e.g., a third sub-period STP3 in the above-mentioned timing). As shown in fig. 6, the detecting circuit FC of the electronic device 100 may include a multiplexer (DEMUX) DP, a plurality of transmission lines TL and/or an arithmetic circuit AC, wherein the plurality of readout lines ROL (for outputting the sensing data in the fingerprint sensor FPS) may be electrically connected to the multiplexer DP, and the transmission lines TL are connected between the multiplexer DP and the arithmetic circuit AC, but not limited thereto, and the connection manner thereof may be appropriately adjusted according to the requirement. In some embodiments, the detection circuit FC may reduce the above circuit elements or add other suitable circuit elements according to the requirement.

In some embodiments (see fig. 6), the fingerprint sensors FPS of the unit detection blocks DU (refer to the previous figure) can be divided into five detection groups DG 1-DG 5, and the readout lines ROL electrically connected to the fingerprint sensors FPS can be divided into five detection groups DG 1-DG 5, but not limited thereto. For example, in fig. 6, five detection groups DG1 to DG5 may have the same number of read lines ROL, respectively, for example. For example, when the electronic device 100 has n readout lines ROL, each of the detection groups DG1 through DG5 may have n/5 readout lines ROL, respectively, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the number of the sense lines ROL connected to each of the sense groups DG 1-DG 5 may be the same or different from each other. In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 has 1000 readout lines ROL, for example, and the detection groups DG1 to DG5 may have 200 readout lines ROL, for example, respectively, and the number of the transmission lines TL may be 200, for example, but is not limited thereto. In other words, the detection groups DG1 through DG5 may correspond to 200 readout lines ROL, for example, a first readout line ROL to a second readout line ROL, respectively, and the first readout line ROL in different detection groups DG1 through DG5 is connected to the first transmission trace TL, the second readout line ROL in different detection groups DG1 through DG5 is connected to the second transmission trace TL, and so on.

In some embodiments (e.g., fig. 6 to 7), the different detection groups (DG1 to DG5) are turned on at different timings, for example. In some embodiments (see fig. 7), the detecting circuit FC can be divided into five intervals (e.g. B1-B5) when collecting the sensing data, wherein the number of the intervals can be the same as the number of the detection sets DG 1-DG 5, but is not limited thereto. For example, in the interval B1, the multiplexer DP provides a switch signal S1 to turn on the composite pixels CPX corresponding to the readout line ROL connected to the first detection group DG1, so that the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixels CPX can be read by the connected readout line ROL, and the sensing data can be sequentially transmitted to the transmission line TL and the operation circuit AC through the readout line ROL, but not limited thereto. Similarly, in the interval B2, the multiplexer DP provides a switch signal S2 to turn on the composite pixels CPX corresponding to the readout line ROL connected to the second detection group DG2, so that the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixels CPX can be read by the connected readout line ROL, and the sensing data can be sequentially transmitted to the transmission line TL and the operation circuit AC via the readout line ROL. In the interval B3, the multiplexer DP provides a switch signal S3 to turn on the composite pixels CPX corresponding to the readout line ROL connected to the third detection group DG3, so that the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixels CPX can be read by the connected readout line ROL, and the sensing data can be sequentially transmitted to the transmission line TL and the operation circuit AC via the readout line ROL. In the interval B4, the multiplexer DP provides a switch signal S4 to turn on the composite pixels CPX corresponding to the readout line ROL connected to the fourth detection group DG4, so that the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixels CPX can be read by the connected readout line ROL, and the sensing data can be sequentially transmitted to the transmission line TL and the operation circuit AC via the readout line ROL, for example. In the interval B5, the multiplexer DP provides a switch signal S5 to turn on the composite pixels CPX corresponding to the readout line ROL connected to the fifth detection group DG5, so that the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixels CPX can be read by the connected readout line ROL, and the sensing data can be sequentially transmitted to the transmission line TL and the operation circuit AC via the readout line ROL. In other words, in different intervals B1-B5, the multitask demodulator DP can selectively turn on the compound pixel CPX corresponding to different detection groups (e.g., DG 1-DG 5), so that the sensing data of the fingerprint sensor FPS can be transmitted to the operation circuit AC through the same transmission line TL at different timings, thereby reducing the number of the transmission lines TL.

As described above, the sensing data transmitted by the first readout line ROL in each of the detection groups DG 1-DG 5 can be transmitted to the same transmission line TL (e.g., the first transmission line TL) respectively at different timings by the control of the multiplexer DP. Similarly, the sensing data transmitted by the nth readout line ROL in each of the detection groups DG 1-DG 5 can be transmitted to the same transmission line TL (e.g., the nth transmission line TL) respectively at different timings by the control of the multi-task demultiplexer DP, and so on, the number of the transmission lines TL can be reduced as described above.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 can obtain the position of the finger FG by touch sensing, and then perform fingerprint sensing on the corresponding unit detection blocks DU according to the position of the finger FG, and the detection circuit FC can collect the sensing data of the unit detection blocks DU, so as to reduce the sensing time and/or reduce the power consumption during sensing.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting a biometric characteristic (e.g., a fingerprint) by an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the invention. As can be seen from the above, the method for detecting a biometric characteristic by the electronic device 100 according to the first embodiment may include the following steps, and the electronic device 100 for detecting a fingerprint is taken as an example.

Step 1102: an electronic device and a detection area DA of the electronic device are provided, wherein the electronic device 100 has a plurality of composite pixels CPX, and the plurality of composite pixels respectively include at least one light providing pixel LX and at least one fingerprint sensor FPS. It should be noted that the detection area DA of the present embodiment may be at least a portion of the active area AA of the electronic device, or the detection area DP may be an area including the composite pixel CPX in the active area AA.

Step 1104 includes steps 1104a 1104c, where steps 1104a 1104c are, for example:

step 1104 a: the scanning light is generated by sequentially turning on a first composite pixel and a second composite pixel of a plurality of composite pixels CPX located in the detection area DA.

Step 1104 b: first data is collected from at least a portion of the first composite pixel.

Step 1104 c: second data is collected from at least a portion of the second composite pixel.

Step 1106: and identifying the fingerprint.

It should be noted that in step 1104a, the first composite pixel and the second composite pixel can respectively generate a portion of the scanning light. In addition, step 1104b can be performed after performing part of step 1104a, for example, step 1104b is performed after "turning on the first composite pixel of the plurality of composite pixels CPX in the detection area DA and generating a part of the scanning light". Then, step 1104a is performed to sequentially turn on a second composite pixel of the plurality of composite pixels CPX in the detection area DA to generate a scanning light. Then, step 1104c is performed again. The above steps may be inserted with other suitable steps or the sequence may be modified as required, for example, the second composite pixel may be turned on first and then the first composite pixel may be turned on, but the invention is not limited thereto.

It is noted that "at least a portion of the first composite pixel" in step 1104b is, for example, a fingerprint sensor FPS in the first composite pixel. The "at least a portion of the second composite pixel" of step 1104c is, for example, the fingerprint sensor FPS in the second composite pixel.

Referring to fig. 9 and 10, fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting a biometric characteristic (e.g., a fingerprint) by an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the invention, fig. 10 is a schematic top view illustrating an electronic device 100 for detecting a fingerprint according to the second embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the electronic device has a plurality of composite pixels CPX, which respectively include at least one fingerprint sensor FPS and at least one light providing pixel LX. One of the differences between fig. 10 and the aforementioned fig. 4 is that the fingerprint sensor FPS of fig. 10 can, for example, receive scanning light generated by the light providing pixels LX located in different composite pixels CPX. For example, in fig. 10, at the first timing of fingerprint sensing, the light providing pixels LX (i.e., the first group of light providing pixels LX, represented by dotted shading) in the composite pixels CPX1 of at least one unit detection block DU are turned on to generate a portion of scanning light, which is reflected to the unit detection block DU by a finger and received by the fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e., the first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit) of the composite pixel CPX13, for example, so as to subsequently collect data in the fingerprint sensor FPS of the composite pixel CPX 13; in a second timing (not shown), for example, the light providing pixels LX (i.e., the second group of light providing pixels LX) in the composite pixels CPX2 of at least one unit detection block DU are turned on to generate a portion of the scanning light, which is reflected to the unit detection block DU by the finger and received by, for example, the fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e., the second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit) of the composite pixel CPX14, so as to subsequently collect the data in the fingerprint sensor FPS of the composite pixel CPX14, but not limited thereto. The turned-on light providing pixel LX and the received fingerprint sensor FPS (i.e., collected or read out sensing data) can be located in two different composite pixels, respectively, and the relative positions of the two different composite pixels are not limited to fig. 10, and the relative positions of the light providing pixel LX and the received fingerprint sensor FPS can be modulated according to the requirement.

In an embodiment (as shown in fig. 10), the fingerprint sensor FPS (e.g., a first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit DU) and the light providing pixels LX (e.g., a first group of the light providing pixels LX) generating a portion of the corresponding scanning light may have a first distance DT1, corresponding to the same fingerprint sensing unit DU, as seen in a top view of the electronic device 100. For example, the minimum distance between the light providing pixel LX in the composite pixel CPX1 and the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixel CPX13 in the second direction D2 is the first distance DT 1.

In addition, the minimum distance of the light providing pixel LX in another composite pixel CPX1 corresponding to a different fingerprint sensing unit DU from the fingerprint sensor FPS in the aforementioned composite pixel CPX13 is a distance DTX, while the first distance DT1 is, for example, smaller than the distance DTX. The light contribution or interference of the fingerprint sensor FPS by the light providing pixel LX in another adjacent composite pixel CPX1 can be reduced by the above design. In other words, in the first timing sequence, for example, the light providing pixel LX in the composite pixel CPX1 is turned on, and the light generated by the light providing pixels LX of the two composite pixels CPX1 in fig. 10 respectively has a sensing range after being reflected by a finger, so that the fingerprint sensor FPS to be received (i.e., to be collected or read out a sensing signal) is selected to be within the sensing range of the light providing pixel LX in the corresponding composite pixel CPX1, but is not capable of sensing the interference light of the light providing pixel LX in the adjacent composite pixel CPX 1.

In some embodiments, the first distance DT1 may be less than or equal to 600 micrometers (um) (first distance DT 1600 micrometers). Still alternatively, the first distance DT1 may be between 0 and 600 microns (0 micron < first distance DT 1600 microns). It should be noted that the first distance DT1 may vary somewhat depending on the sensed distance (H) and thus may be modulated appropriately.

It should be noted that fig. 10 illustrates a composite pixel (i.e. including at least one light providing pixel LX and possibly a fingerprint sensor FPS), and the fingerprint sensor FPS to be received can select either a fingerprint sensor FPS that is located in the same composite pixel as the turned-on light providing pixel LX or a fingerprint sensor FPS that is within 600 microns of the turned-on light providing pixel LX and is not interfered by the reflected light of other turned-on light providing pixels LX, but in other embodiments (not illustrated), the turned-on light providing pixel LX is not located in the composite pixel, i.e. there is no fingerprint sensor FPS located correspondingly, and in such embodiments, the minimum distance between the light providing pixel LX and the fingerprint sensor FPS can be, for example, between 0 and 600 microns (0 micron < distance DT 1600 microns) and is not interfered by the reflected light of other turned-on light providing pixels LX.

Similarly, in a top-down direction of the electronic device 100, the fingerprint sensor FPS (e.g., the second portion in the fingerprint sensing unit DU) and the light providing pixel LX (e.g., the second group of light providing pixels LX) generating another portion of the corresponding scanning light may have a second distance DT2, e.g., the minimum distance between the light providing pixel LX in the composite pixel CPX2 and the fingerprint sensor FPS in the composite pixel CPX14 of fig. 10 is the second distance DT 2. In some embodiments, the first distance DT1 and the second distance DT2 may be substantially equal. In other words, the second distance DT2 may be less than or equal to 600 microns (second distance DT 2600 microns). Still alternatively, the second distance DT2 may be between 0 and 600 microns (0 micron < second distance DT 2600 microns), but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first distance DT1 and the second distance DT2 may not be equal. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the number of first clusters is the same as the number of second clusters. For example, the number of the first group may refer to the number of the light providing pixels LX included in the first group, and the number of the second group may refer to the number of the light providing pixels LX included in the second group, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 9, it can be seen from the above that the method for detecting a biometric characteristic (e.g., a fingerprint) by the electronic device 100 according to the second embodiment can include the following steps.

Step 1202: an electronic device and a detection area DA of the electronic device are provided, wherein the electronic device 100 has a fingerprint sensing unit DU and a plurality of light providing pixels LX. It should be noted that the detection area DA of the present embodiment may be at least a portion of the active area AA of the electronic device, or the detection area DA may be an area of the active area AA including the fingerprint sensing unit DU.

Step 1204 includes steps 1204a to 1204c, where steps 1204a to 1204c are, for example:

step 1204 a: the scanning light is generated by sequentially turning on the first and second groups of the plurality of light-providing pixels LX located in the detection area DA.

Step 1204 b: a portion of the scanning light emitted by the first group is sensed by the first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit DU.

Step 1204 c: a portion of the scanning light emitted by the second group is sensed by the second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit DU.

Step 1206: and identifying the fingerprint.

It is noted that in the step 1204a, the first group and the second group may respectively generate a part of the scanning light. The above step 1204b can be performed alternatively after the step 1204a is performed, for example, the step 1204b is performed alternatively after "turning on the first group of the light providing pixels LX in the detection area DA and generating a part of the scanning light" in the step 1204 a. Then, step 1204a is executed to sequentially turn on the second group of the plurality of light-providing pixels LX located in the detection region to generate the scanning light. Then, step 1204c is performed again. The above steps are inserted into other suitable steps or their sequence is modulated according to the requirement, for example, the second group can be started first and then the first group can be started, but not limited to this.

Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting a biometric characteristic (e.g., a fingerprint) by an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the invention, wherein the electronic device 100 is exemplified by a liquid crystal display panel, and the display panel may comprise any suitable type of liquid crystal material. As shown in fig. 11, the method for detecting a biometric characteristic (e.g., a fingerprint) by the electronic device 100 according to the third embodiment may include the following steps.

Step 1302: a liquid crystal display panel and a detection area DA are provided, wherein the detection area DA comprises a fingerprint sensing unit Du and light providing pixels LX disposed in the liquid crystal display panel. It should be noted that the detection area DA of the present embodiment may be at least a portion of the active area AA of the electronic device, or the detection area DA may be an area of the active area AA including the light providing pixels LX and the fingerprint sensing unit DU.

Step 1304: includes steps 1304a to 1304b, wherein steps 1304a to 1304c are, for example:

step 1304 a: the scanning light is generated by sequentially turning on the first and second groups of the plurality of light-providing pixels LX located in the detection area DA.

Step 1304 b: the scanning light is sensed by the fingerprint sensing unit.

Step 1306: and identifying the fingerprint.

It should be noted that in the step 1304a, the first group and the second group may respectively generate a part of the scanning light. The step 1304b can be performed after the step 1304a is partially performed, for example, the step 1304b is performed after "turning on the first group of the light providing pixels LX in the detection area DA to generate a part of the scanning light" in the step 1304 a. Then, step 1304a is performed to sequentially turn on a second group of the light providing pixels LX in the detection area DA to generate the scanning light. Then, step 1304c is performed. The above sequence of steps is only an example, and other suitable steps may be inserted or the sequence may be modified according to the requirement, for example, the second group may be turned on first and then the first group is turned on, but not limited thereto.

It should be noted that the method described in the present invention (including any of the above embodiments) is only an example and is not limited thereto. Other steps may be performed before, after, or between any of the steps described above, or may be performed in a different order, or changes may be made to any of the steps described above.

In summary, in the method for detecting a biometric feature (e.g., a fingerprint) of the present invention, only a portion of the light providing pixels are turned on in a timing sequence to generate a portion of the scanning light, and the light reflected by the biometric feature (e.g., the fingerprint) is received or sensed by the fingerprint sensor corresponding to or adjacent to the light providing pixels, and the sensing data in the fingerprint sensor is collected, thereby improving the sensing accuracy.

Although the embodiments of the present invention and their advantages have been described above, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification, but it is to be understood that any process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, method and steps, presently existing or later to be developed, that will be obvious to one skilled in the art from this disclosure may be utilized according to the present application as many equivalents of the presently available embodiments of the present application are possible and equivalents may be developed in that way. Accordingly, the scope of the present application includes the processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, and steps described above. In addition, each claim constitutes a separate embodiment, and the scope of protection of the present invention also includes combinations of the respective claims and embodiments. The scope of the present invention is to be determined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a fingerprint on a liquid crystal display panel having a plurality of light-providing pixels, comprising:

providing a detection area, wherein the detection area comprises a fingerprint sensing unit arranged in the liquid crystal display panel;

generating a scanning light by sequentially turning on a first group of the plurality of light providing pixels and a second group of the plurality of light providing pixels located in the detection area;

sensing, by the fingerprint sensing unit, the scanning light; and

the fingerprint is recognized.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of the first groups is the same as the number of the second groups.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first group and the second group are located in different sub-regions of the detection region.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein in the sensing the scanning light by the fingerprint sensing unit, a first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit senses a portion of the scanning light emitted by the first group and a second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit senses another portion of the scanning light emitted by the second group.

5. A method for detecting a fingerprint by an electronic device having a fingerprint sensing unit, comprising:

providing a detection area of the electronic device;

generating scanning light by sequentially turning on a first group and a second group of a plurality of light providing pixels located in the detection area;

sensing, by a first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit, a portion of the scanning light emitted by the first group; and

sensing, by a second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit, another portion of the scanning light emitted by the second group;

wherein a first distance between the first portion of the fingerprint sensing unit and the first group of the plurality of light providing pixels is less than 600 microns in a top down direction of the electronic device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second portion of the fingerprint sensing unit and the second group of the plurality of light providing pixels have a second distance therebetween in a top down direction of the electronic device, and the first distance and the second distance are equal.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the number of the first groups is the same as the number of the second groups.

8. A method for detecting a fingerprint by an electronic device having a plurality of composite pixels, wherein each of the plurality of composite pixels includes at least one light providing pixel and at least one fingerprint sensor, the method comprising:

providing a detection area of the electronic device;

generating scanning light by sequentially turning on a first composite pixel of the plurality of composite pixels and a second composite pixel of the plurality of composite pixels in the detection area;

collecting a first datum from at least a portion of the first composite pixel;

collecting a second data from at least a portion of the second composite pixel; and

the fingerprint is recognized.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the electronic device has an outer surface for touching by a finger, the outer surface and one of the plurality of composite pixels have a sensing distance H in a top view of the electronic device, the one of the plurality of composite pixels has a width W, wherein H and W satisfy the following equation:

h x W <0.3 square millimeters.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first material is collected from at least one fingerprint sensor of the first composite pixel and a second material is collected from at least one fingerprint sensor of the second composite pixel.